‘Santa Clause’ Works Despite a Few Flaws in the Fine Print

In “The Santa Clause,” a twist of fate turns cynical toy company executive Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) into the real Santa, delighting his alienated son Charlie but alarming his ex-wife and her psychiatrist boyfriend, who thinks he’s dangerously delusional. (Rated PG)

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‘Tis the season for feel-good family movies about rational or sarcastic divorced parents who learn from their children how to believe in magic again, and this one is destined to become a classic of the genre.

First, it offers concrete answers for some niggling questions that ultimately sow doubt in the minds of young believers: How does Santa get to every child’s house in the world on one night? (A glitch in the space-time continuum.) How can he carry all those presents? (They’re beamed in.) How can he get down a chimney, and what if you don’t have one? (He and his bag shrink to fit even the smallest air vent.) How does he know who’s naughty and who’s nice? (He’s magically omniscient.)

So there.

It’s also packed with enough charming special effects to please and excite kids weaned on “Star Trek” reruns. Flying elves and reindeer. An electronic “North pole” that opens an ice door to Santa’s workshop when a code is punched in. A sleigh loaded with extras including a CD--Cookie and Cocoa Dispenser.

Justin Weinraub, 10, and his brother Jeremy, 8, said they particularly liked watching Scott Calvin’s unwelcome transformation from a single dad who takes his son to Denny’s on Christmas Eve into a fat, bearded nice guy prone to wearing red sweat shirts.

“My favorite part is when he goes to the doctor and says I gained 45 pounds in a week,” Jeremy said. “And when he goes to work and they go . . . “ he added, bugging his eyes out.

Justin said he liked the scenes “when he shaves his beard and it suddenly grows back and when he goes down the chimney--well, it doesn’t have one at first--and he makes himself skinny and there becomes a chimney opening inside and he just goes out.”

One 13-year-old said she thought the special effects looked fake. And a few small children got bored and walked up and down the aisles. But most gave the movie an A-plus.

Even 14-year-old Marian Nader said she liked it, though most of her friends might not think it’s cool.

“It kind of makes you believe in Santa Claus,” she said, adding that when she figured out the truth about Santa, it was a real letdown for her. “I wish I didn’t find out. It’s kind of cool to, you know, think it’s really Santa Claus.”

Kids said they found “The Santa Clause” more realistic, more exciting and funnier than the remake of “Miracle on 34th Street.” Gentler than “Home Alone,” the movie’s only violence involves the elves’ liberation squad, which rescues Santa from jail by tying up a guard.

At least the movie is true to its era. Not only do people think Santa is crazy, but the rationalists want to take him to court to take away his visitation rights. When little Charlie tells Neal the psychiatrist to lighten up, he says, “You’re denying your inner child.”

The audience chuckled the heartiest when a sweet child, awaiting Santa by the tree, leaves him soy milk because the year before, a partially transformed Calvin grumpily told her he was “lactose intolerant.”

The movie doesn’t answer every question, though. Some of us still wonder: How does Santa know if you’re staying at your mom’s or your dad’s? And, how did they make Tim Allen look like he gained 100 pounds?